Something new for LUNCH this weekend?

Every weekend we find ourselves doing the usual burrito or sandwich for lunch. Or, we had to the Super 88 food court and take our pick from there. I'm looking for suggestions for good (casual and inexpensive!) lunch spots with something a little different or special making it worth the trip.

For example, Ortanique does great Jamaican food and is a perfect lunch for Saturday afternoons, and is interesting in that there are not that many Jamaican spots around.

Could be a new place that opened recently... or an old standby that we tend to look over.Could be anywhere in the Boston metro area - we don't mind driving a bit to try something new!

Have you tried Piattini on Newbury? I tend to shy away from Newbury restaurants just because they are all so generic and are mostly tourist traps. HOWEVER, Piattini is really really good! They have great panini's and salads!

Rami's is an Israeli place on Harvard (maybe 2 blocks off Beacon, toward Allston). I love their falafel (and like the schwarma, but I like Schwarma King a bit better for that). They close early on Fridays (2 or 3?) and remain closed until Sunday a.m. Prices and atmosphere are similar to SK.

Porter Exchange Mall - take your pick of interesting, inexpensive Asian restaurant stalls, from Japanese to Korean to ramen noodles. Blue Fin, the full-sized Japanese restaurant around the corner, has terrific food and a nice variety of reasonably priced lunch sets.

Baraka Cafe - excellent Algerian and Tunisian, open for lunch on Saturday, but dinner-only on Sunday

Sessa's/Vinny's/Bob's - old school Italian subs in Somerville. There was a recent thread with a litany of more great Somerville choices along these same lines. NB I believe Vinny's is closed on Sundays.

Tacos Lupita - their burritos are adequate, but I feel like they're only on the menu as a concession to the faint-of-heart who are looking for something familiar. Their tamales, mulitas, papusas, and plain old tacos are where Lupita really shines.

Punjabi Dhaba - this place gets plenty of attention here, but their egg dishes, only available during daytime hours, are often overlooked. The anda burji, for example, is "beaten eggs cooked with onion, ginger, green chilli, tomatoes, coriander leaves, green peas and spices". Absolutely the stuff that cravings are made of.

I have nothing against any of the Porter Exchange places, but I'm a huge fan of Cafe Mami. Even their simple chicken teriyaki donburi bowl is sublime. As odd as it may sound, a number of my Asian friends will make pilgrimages from all over the metro area just for their stir-fried hamburger. I also think their oyako bowl is great.

my favorite is ittyo, but that might be because i prefer fish, like the eel donburi. chocho's is ok too. kotobukiya has minimum-acceptability sushi but you can gorge on it for under $20. i'm not a fan of bluefin, which i consider kotobukiya quality at higher prices, or mami, and have never been to sapporo ramen. all in all i think the whole porter exchange is disappointing.

I was picking up take-out from Vinny's at Night the other night and saw a sign that the restaurant is now open for lunch. I can't remember exactly which days of the week, but Saturday might be one of them.

For basic sandwich/simiple meal type fare, there's Victor's and Deluxe Town Diner in Watertown. Cha Fahn in JP serves lunch but I have yet to go. Bon Savor on Centre St. has a nice brunch with some lunch items.